War, Football Provide Test Of Big Networks' Priorities

TV/Radio -

January 25, 1991|By CARL ROSENBLATT Staff Writer

The networks' coverage of the National Football League conference championship games last Sunday was surreal. The most bizarre element was also the simplest: Football games were being interrupted for war updates.

``It's first and 10, and we'll be back after this special report.

``We're under attack from Iraqi missiles here in Saudi Arabia, but our Patriot missiles have been able to intercept most of the enemy launches. Now back to the game.''

NBC took its first news break at the end of the first quarter of the Raiders-at-Bills AFC game. There were three more reports before halftime.

CBS initially broke away from the Giants-at-49ers NFC game late in the first quarter, and then cut away again late in the second quarter to report that more Scud missiles had been launched by Iraq. Both networks' halftime shows consisted of more detailed updates and recaps of the war.

Referees at Candlestick Park held up play during an earlier break, but CBS lost a play later when anchor Dan Rather came on at 5:08 p.m. Pat Summerall in fact thanked Rather for returning so soon that viewers were ``only missing one play.''

The NFL previously had agreed that it could stop play for as much as one minute if news broke.

It was first reported just before 2 p.m. that U.S. forces at Dhahran, Saudi Arabia, had fired Patriot missiles to intercept the first of the incoming Iraqi Scuds. After brief remarks by NBC's Bob Costas at the start of halftime, the network switched to news anchor Tom Brokaw and a war report.

While Brokaw was speaking, local programming was still being shown by both CBS and ABC. Despite the game, NBC beat both of the other networks to Persian Gulf news.

Both Rather and Brokaw referred to the score of their respective games almost every time they were on the air. It made one wonder which event the networks deemed more important. If anything, it seemed that the games took precedence.

* LT BLASTS PROTESTERS

Moments after his team had earned the right to play in Super Bowl XXV, Giants linebacker Lawrence Taylor reflected for a moment on the war in the gulf. Taylor criticized the country's protesters, urging them instead to support ``those who are over there dying for you.''

* AXTHELM ON DL

ESPN analyst and point-spread specialist Pete Axthelm likely will miss the network's NFL GameDay and NFL Primetime shows for the second consecutive week. ESPN would not say what illness Axthelm has, but it also kept him out of action last weekend.

* VITALE KNIGHTED

Indiana basketball coach Bobby Knight kidded with ESPN analyst Dick Vitale before his team lost to Ohio State Monday night. Knight twice passed in front of the camera while Vitale was giving pregame analysis, holding up a program to block Vitale's face. Vitale took the joke in stride, but why must he always say Robert Montgomery Knight when referring to the IU coach?